Venture Out Beach Rentals — Hotel in Upper Grand Lagoon

Well, let’s get the bad out of the way first. We book unit 422 several months in advance. We booked this particular unit because it had a Queen room then a room with bunk beds and a full. About a month before the trip they updated the unit to show two fulls in that room. No big deal we could have made it work as it still had a pull out couch.

The Friday before our Wednesday arrival we get an email saying that unit isn’t available and they’re moving us to 352, and if we didn’t like that we could upgrade for another $1000 to a different unit. 352 shows it sleeps 6 but only 2 FULL beds (these units advertise queen beds but I promise you they are not). We emailed asking about how it sleeps 6 and they said the couch does not pull out. So we bought an air mattress on the way down. Come to find out the couch does pull out.

We arrived after hours so the security guard checked us in, but you still have to go back to the office to pay the $75 parking fee. Read your emails for the door codes. You also won’t have the ocean gate code if you check in late so call ahead and ask for it.

Grounds review: Facility is nice, office is rather dated. Mostly quiet, a few rowdy golf carts around 10pm nothing insane. Free putt putt, lagoon pool closes at 11pm, gulf pool at dusk. Pools were clean, there’s docks for boats. No hot tub which is disappointing. Campers are wedged between the ‘houses’. Beach access is straightforward. They have a sign saying set tents and umbrellas up to the left of their reserved seats, but I hope you didn’t rent them because no one followed this. No trash service like Ocean Lakes, you’re in charge of taking it to the compactor in the back.

352 review: Refrigerator does not get very cold. The beds are not queens like advertised. TV’s are rather old (not a huge deal). Everything was clean. Included golf cart was nice, but wish it had the windshield for coming back as the rain came in.

Overall the experience was nice, but I would not stay here again after they canceled our booked unit last minute like that, and then didn’t offer any form of compensation towards an “upgrade” but tried to say we were doing a lateral move when in fact it was a downgrade. To top it off we wasted money on an air mattress because they had incorrect information...

Venture Out had been my beach rental of choice for the past 20 plus years. In the beginning, the older lady we rented from offered honest guidance and performed some of the cleaning of the units she was responsible for. Years later she retired and the rental and cleaning responsibilities changed hands. Unfortunately, I paid a $100 cleaning fee for a unit that had sand on the floor, a leaky kitchen sink (under the counter), small black bugs, the size of pepper, in the kitchen and bathroom and a cockroach too. I pulled my shoes off and immeduately noticed the sand and while in search of a broom and dustpan (never found) my feet turned black from the filthy floor not being swept nor mopped. The unit I rented (271) is old and it was a complete disappointment. The reality of it DID NOT match the pictues, AT ALL. It seems that the websites' pictures haven't been updated. It was filthy for one, in addition, it does not have ceiling lights in all of the rooms, only lamps, some of which do not work. Some lamps only had one dim light bulb. The bathroom is so small you can barely turn around in it, and the tiny shower floor feels as though it is going to fall through the floor in some spots. I paid $200 a night to stay in what reminded me of a tent. I feel that the unit is way over priced AND filthy. I will consider other rental options in the future outside of Venture Out. (And....parking is expensive not to mention horrendous.) Sincerely, Very Disappointed, Repeat...

Like the venture out park and the home was beautiful but cleanliness was a major issue for us. It looked clean upon entering but we quickly realized only a very superficial cleaning was done. The toilet bowls looked clean but the seats were flipped up and upon lowering the seats I was horrified as there was dried caked urine on the hinges as well as feces and blood on the toilet seat and sides. I used an entire container of Lysol wipes to clean it and it was still dirty. All light switches and plates were black it took multiple Lysol wipes to clean them. After 20 mins my sons feet were black and the shower was full of mold/mildew (3 different types - orange black and white). We paid close to a 200 cleaning fee and I’m not sure what they actually cleaned. I had to spend several hours cleaning upon arriving to make it somewhat livable. Everything was just grimy even the kitchen chairs and table the refrigerator had an odor and wasn’t cleaned very well. So while the park is nice and some of the houses are beautiful I wouldn’t suggest staying here unless you don’t mind someone else’s grime or are prepared to spend the beginning of your vacation cleaning. I attempted to reach out to the company prior to posting this review but my message...